that's it for this special report, fair, balanced and unafraid. >> shep: this is the fox report. he was this close to a win in iowa. but will rick santorum even make all the future ballots? tonight his major deadline problem. plus, controversy over cutting the military budget. >> we can keep our military strong and our nation secure with a defense budget that continues to be larger than roughly the next ten countries combined. >> shep: but critics say cuts could lead the -- leave the nation too vulnerable. we'll examine the plan to reshape america's military. the republican front runners, turning their attention from each other to go after the president. >> this administration is

crushing the business community. >> this president has engaged and he's engaging in crony capitalism. >> shep: tonight shifting strategies as new hampshire looms. plus, rescued at sea. tonight, two boys, two dads and a cooler floating in the middle of the ocean. but first from fox this thursday night with just days to go until the first in the nation primary, conservatives are focusing on the economy. presidential hopeful rick santorum nearly won iowa's caucuses with a message of fiscal conservatism. but today some critics are calling him a massive overspender during his 16 years in congress. senator john mccain is a mitt romney supporter. today he cited santorum's use of $500,000 for a polar bear exhibit at the pittsburgh zoo as one example of his wasteful spending. and if rick santorum is hoping to catch up to mitt romney

again, he's got an uphill battle. mitt romney has truck loads more money and lots more organization on the ground. he also used to govern the neighboring state of massachusetts. so he has a lot more name recognition in that neck of the woods. and the latest tracking poll shows just how much of a lead mitt romney has in new hampshire. more than 20 points ahead of his closest rival. and that's ron paul. not santorum. that's just one poll. here is a look at the average of all the polls. mitt romney still has a substantial lead. this is a map of where each of the candidates who are in the state campaigned today. and several used their time to attend -- or i should say attack president obama. here, listen. >> this president is a crony capitalist. he's a job killer. and it's going to keep america from creating the jobs we need for our kids and our grandkids. >> this administration is

crushing the business community. why? because they know better. they know how to better how to run your business. >> shep: the economy, stupid, to borrow a phrase. and it's the name of the game in this election and you better believe it will play a very big role this coming tuesday. let's kick things off with campaign carl cameron live near manchester, new hampshire with more. new hampshire's conservatives are more about economics than anything in any way related to social issues. >> that's right. this is the only state in the country that does not have a sales or an income tax. the live for your dime motto says it all on the license plates. mitt romney, playing to his jobs and business experience, has bet on the idea that jobs and the economy will be the number one issue and steered away from a lot of the social issues and frankly, yankees in the northeast don't like to talk about church. most of them go. but they don't make a big deal out of it. romney today actually wasn't on the campaign trail in new hampshire. he was in south carolina, which speaks to his confidence in the

polls here in the first of the nation primary state and his aware than south carolina is going to be very, very important and where his rival also even increase their attacks right now. rick santorum has been campaigning here in new hampshire as well. he's altered his message a little bit, still a great deal on values and god and religion and spiritual faith and politics. but he's also turned on more economic populist message. then you have newt gingrich who said he would go after mitt romney here in new hampshire and today he did in a twofer, using the social and values issue, but starting out with taxes. >> the governor appointed liberal judges to appease the democrats. he raised taxes. as governor, he put planned parenthood in romneycare by name, and as governor, plan romneycare has tax paid abortions. >> some of those hits on romney in new hampshire will matter a lot of folks in new hampshire are massachusetts transplants

and they vote and remember romney's record. >> shep: in new hampshire, we added jon huntsman to the mix. ron paul is important there as well. >> that's true. both of them have been here a great deal of time and they're courting independent vote increase new hampshire, which are actually a larger voting bloc in many cases and many elections recently and do swing the primary at the last second. ron paul has been courting independents. he's also running a sort of libertarian streak of republicanism in new hampshire that plays well. it's his second time around the track, so they know him. jon huntsman spent more time on the campaign trail than anybody, even romney who has a vacation home here. he worked very, very hard on it. his is more of a complete message, but it's been sort of to the moderate left of the rest of the field with a possible exception of romney. both are playing hard. right now paul is in second place in the polls. huntsman has been polling third. he has to hold on it that. any surge from santorum that might eclipse huntsman could do in huntsman on the campaign trail here.

>> shep: live in manchester, it's important to note potentially road blocks for the santorum campaign. he may not even be on the ballot in some of the most important state primaries. we'll get the details moments from now. first, washington is getting all riled up over some controversial cuts to the united states military budget. president obama outlined the basics of a new defense strategy during a visit to the pentagon today. >> we'll continue to get rid your dated cold war era systems so we can invest in those things we need for the fewer, including intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, counterterrorism , countering weapons of mass destruction, and the ability to operate in environments where adversaries try to deny us access. >> shep: he says the military will be leaner but ready to respond to any threat. but the chairman of the house armed services committee, buck mckeon, calls this a lead from behind strategy from a left behind america.

in a statement, congressman mckeon add, the president must understand that the world has always had and will always have a leader. as america steps back, someone else will step forward. for some context, here is how the spending fluctuated over the years. it fell during the relatively peaceful 1990s and jumped again after the terrorist attacks of 9-11. of course, there are critics here and they say this isn't just about money. it's about safety and security as well. jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon. they say everyone involved seems to believe this is going to be fine except for some critics on the outside. can you explain to us what the cut also involve? >> most significantly, the focus will shift toward the asia pacific, away from ground wars toward air and sea power, the army and marine corps will get smaller. the f-35 fighter jet will be slowed, not stopped. military retirement and health benefits will be overhauled.

>> as we look beyond the wars in iraq and afghanistan, and the end of long-term nation building with large military foot print, we'll be able to insure our security with smaller conventional ground forces. >> which means a much smaller army and marine corps. shep. >> shep: the goal always was or for a long time has been to be able to fight two ground did wars at the same time and now i guess it's more of a one plus strategy. >> well, certainly that was the strategy for 70 years. but the pentagon is now admitting publicly what it has known privately for some time that, it can't fight and win two ground wars at the same time. this is interesting. we challenged the chairman of the joint chiefs about this today and he pushed back. here is what he said. >> nobody has said and nowhere in this document does it say we're not going to be in wars. it would be a mistake to suggest or for to you walk away with the impression or anyone to walk away with the impression that we're going to niche ourselves

to some point on this spectrum of conflict. >> the new strategy talks about fighting one ground war, but then it would, quote, deny and impose unacceptable costs to an adversary on a second front, shep. >> shep: jennifer griffin live at the pentagon. thanks very much. even as washington looks for ways to save money, we're seeing some very good signals that our economy is now healing. the number of americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits dropped to 372,000. and the four-week average settled at under 375,000, to the lowest level since 2008. when applications drop that low, the economists say it's generally an indicator that the overall unemployment rate will fall. and that's the only -- that's not the only bit of good news we got today. peter barnes is live in washington. a new report is out and it shows that u.s. companies added more jobs last month than even the experts predicted.

>> that's right, shep. a.d.p., payroll processing company, released its monthly jobs report today. it said employers added 325,000 nonfarm work increase december, much higher than forecast and the highest in its records going back to 2001. one economist said the report suggests the economy is picking up steam and will stay strong this year. >> we don't see anything that would derail us in the very short-term, which means the momentum will carry into 2012. a little farther out, we got to worry about europe, yeah, we have to worry about washington, d.c., but i think the threats are overblown. >> adp said more than half of the gains last month were in small businesses, which historically are the engine of job creation in a recovery, shep. >> shep: peter, we also get indicators of planned job cuts. as it turns out, the number of planned job cuts has gone way down, too. >> that's right. a separate report from outplacement consultants

challenger gray and christmas said the number of planned layoffs as u.s. companies declined to their lowest level since june, about 42,000 positions. both reports today have elevated expectations for tomorrow's monthly jobs report from the labor department and analysts expect it will show nonfarm payrolls up 150,000 last month, with the unemployment rate holding steady at about 8.7%. >> shep: peter barns live in washington, thanks. the parents of an armed teen-ager shot dead in school are demanding answers tonight from the cop who pulled the trigger. now we're hearing the police recordings as the officer tried to get that teen to cooperate. >> he fired the gun. >> put it down! >> put the gun down! >> he's drawing the gun, sir. >> put the gun down! >> shep: the gun in the hand of an eighth grader and it wasn't a gun, per say, but a pellet gun. now we're hearing from the boy's parents and from the police who said they had to open fire.

that's ahead from the journalist of fox news. on america's choice for evening news on cable [ male announcer ] to the 5:00 a.m. scholar. the two trains and a bus rider. the "i'll sleep when it's done" academic. for 80 years, we've been inspired by you. and we've been honored to walk with you to help you get where you want to be ♪ because your moment is now. let nothing stand in your way. learn more at keller.edu.

>> shep: the parents of an eighth grader armed with a pellet gun when cops shot and killed him have slammed police a day after that shooting happened. it was yesterday in brownsville, texas, on the southern tip of the state. officials there say a 15-year-old boy refused to drop his pellet gun. though they didn't know it was a

pellet gun. it's clear from the 911 call people thought it was the real deal. listen. >> shep: three shots and they killed the teen. today his parents are demanding police explain their use of deadly force. >> shooting him three times and once in the head. that's unnecessary. he was a juvenile. he was a child, my child. i don't have any more. >> shep: tonight the officers are standing firm, saying they had no choice but to shoot. trace gallagher live. officials released the autopsy results. right? >> they have, shep. the autopsy shows the 15-year-old jamie gonzalez was shot two times, not three times as police first said. he was not shot in the head. the head one apparently was caused when he fell to the ground. the school says before police

arrived on scene, that the boy actually assaulted a classmate, that he threatened the school officials. the school was then placed on lockdown. listen to the dispatch radio recordings of when police first arrived. >> subject 5' 7, hold ago hand gun. baldheaded. >> where is he? >> we know it was a pellet gun, but it looks very much like a real gun, unlike bb guns and toy guns, pellet don't have that orange tip. in fact, we are now told that many of these guns are sold to actually look and feel as if they are real weapons. >> shep: as for that 911 call, trace, it's longer and really captures almost the entire incident, doesn't it? >> yeah. we went back and listened to it. it runs six minutes. you can hear the dispatcher and

the woman who called 911. but you can also hear in the background people screaming and you can clearly hear police over and over, by our count, as many as ten times saying to the boy, put the gun down. put the gun on the floor. here is where the boy begins to point the gun at the police officers. listen. >> you can hear at that point in time he begins running through the halls with the gun that police believe is real and that is when they opened fire. the family, of course, still believes that the police overreacted in this case. >> shep: all right. thanks. emotional farewell for three children killed in a christmas day house fire. hundreds of mourners came to new york city to remember the three

young sisters. 18 firefighters responded to that blaze carried the caskets. the girls died along with their grandparents in a fire that destroyed the family's home in connecticut. their mother and a friend were the sole survivors. fire officials now say the mother's friend through outsmelledderring ashes from the fireplace because the girls worried that santa would get hurt coming down the chimney. investigators say those embers started the fire that killed them. a man whose entire family was killed in a brutal home invasion is now engaged to be married. the year was 2007. two men broke into dr. william pettitte's home, beat him and tied him up. they attacked his wife and two daughters and set the house on fire. only he survived. he testified at the trials of both of the men accused before a court sentenced each to death. now a spokesman says dr. pettitte is engaged. his fiance, a woman who volunteered for a foundation that he created to honor his family.

no word yet on a wedding date. if you have a pension, you expect it to be there when you retire. i mean, there is a contract, right? but what if state governments don't have the money to pay your pension? some experts warn a lot of us could be picking up the tab. after last year's bloody crackdown on protest increase egypt, prosecutors are demanding the country's former president pay with his very life. and wait 'til you hear how they want him to die. a crossover? if there were buttons for this? wouldn't it be cool if your car could handle the kids. ♪ ...and the nurbgring? or wh if you built a car in tennessee that could change the world? yeah, that would be cool. nissan. innovation for today. innovation for tomorrow. innovation for all.

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>> shep: we're getting a warning that tax hikes may be on the way for lots of americans. the problem seems to be that states are running low on money to pay public pensions. these are the states in the worst shape here.

some are constitutionally required to come up with the cash and analysts say taxpayers may very well have to foot the bill. just today, the governor of illinois signed a law that cracks down on abuse of the pension system, but it does not address the bigger problem. pension funds quickly going broke. jim angle with the news, live in our dc news room. hi, jim. >> hello, shep. governors and their taxpayers have a big problem on their hands. two to $3 trillion in promised pensions and benefits to state and local workers, they cannot pay for. listen. >> this is a huge mess. the odds are very strong that many taxpayers are going to see their taxes go up very, very high to pay pension promises that were made long ago. >> now, it's either that or cut benefits. rhode island, for instance, is contemplating a 50% cut in pensions. democratic governor jerry brown faces huge shortfalls in california, and also had to make

big changes. republican scott walker of wisconsin, one of 27 governors to ask unionized state workers to contribute more toward their benefits faces a recall effort over that and a mood to let workers choose whether to belong to a union rather than have dues automatically deducted. that brought criticism from president obama. >> i don't think it does anybody any good when public employees are deny graded or vilified or their rights are infringed upon. >> the president of the united states knows that federal employees on average pay 28% of their health insurance premium, which is about double what i'm asking from state and local employees in wisconsin. >> and federal workers have no bargaining rights at all. walker notes the money for public employee benefits has to come from somewhere and that means taxpayers whose own benefits are not nearly as generous. shep? >> shep: jim angle, thanks. the historic uprising that toppled egypt's long-time

president hosni mubarak began a year ago now and he's back in court. prosecutors say they want him hanged. they argue mubarak was entirely responsible for the brutal crackdown that killed hundreds of protesters before he finally stepped aside in february. today the former president arrived in court in a helicopter and his aides wheeled him in on a gurney. a crowd of activists stood outside. you can see one holding a noose. hosni mubarak and his two sons also face corruption charges. keep in mind, if the court convicts him, the ruling military council could veto a death sentence. republicans, you are not in iowa anymore. the candidates facing a very different political landscape in the nation's first primary state. so how are they adjusting and what are they doing? we're live in new hampshire, plus a new mom home alone with her baby. a man with a knife trying to break in the house, so she asks 911 for permission to shoot him. should she face charges now that

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>> shep: police in oklahoma say they will not file charges against a young mother who shot and killed a man who broke into her home on new year's eve. she was on the phone with 911 as it was all going down. listen to this.

>> shep: she did. she waited for one of the men to actually come inside and then she dropped him. oklahoma law allows for use of deadly force against intruders. the woman says she was at home alone with her newborn because her husband had just died of cancer on christmas day. 11-year-old girl lost her father in an avalanche on montana. he died in that avalanche. today she thought her dog died as well. but four days later, the dog that everybody thought was deadl where the family waspulling phof the dog and putting them on a memorial poster when her family told her the news. one of the men who tried to rescue her dad says we needed this. it kind of cheered everybody up. i'm shepard smith.

this is the fox report. it's the bottom of the hour. time for the top of the news. ignore the pundits. ignore the polls. that from the presidential hopeful, rick santorum, as he campaigns in new hampshire following his big shakeup in iowa. rick santorum finished in second place there, just eight votes behind the winner, mitt romney. but in several major upcoming primaries, it appears rick santorum may not even be on the ballot. mike emmanuel is live with more. tell us about santorum's campaign problems, if you would. >> shep, senator santorum missed the deadline to be on the ballot here in washington, d.c like a number of other candidate, missed the requirements in virginia. all eyes will be on springfield, illinois late tomorrow afternoon to see if he gets it done there. his campaign insists it will. then vermont is monday. mississippi is the saturday after. but officials there say he has qualified. this all illustrates the challenge of being solely focused, shifting from being

solely focused on iowa to building organization everywhere, shep. >> shep: speaking of organization, does he have one in new hampshire? >> he does. right now he's trying to reach folks on the economy. that includes his idea of cutting the corporate tax to in half for most companies and doing much more to help blue collar workers. >> how about saying we get rid of those programs, we cut the corporate tax to zero when it comes to manufacturers and processor, we give manufacturers the opportunity to compete. we have manufacturing jobs that pay on average $20,000 more than the average job in america. we create the opportunity for those who have been left behind. >> blue collar workers have been hurting in new hampshire, ohio, pennsylvania, and a lot of people think that plan is smart. but some call him a big government conservative and are not sold on santorum. >> when you look at a guy who supported steel tariffs and the biggest entitlement expansion in the last 40 years, you have to question whether he has any

fundamental commitment to making government smaller. >> after 16 years in congress, santorum has a record and, of course, some don't like aspect attention of it. shep. >> shep: mike emmanuel in our washington news room. thank you. listen closely to this next comment from former senator santorum. he's actually saying black people here. but he's claiming he didn't say the word, black. i mean, you listen to it. this was at a campaign event in iowa on sunday. it's pretty quick. so we'll play it twice. >> i don't want to make black people's lives better by giving them somebody else's money. i want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money. i don't want to make black people's lives better by giving them somebody else's money. i want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money. >> shep: you decide what he said. on "the factor" last night, he insisted he did not use the word black. >> i looked at that and i didn't say that. if you look at it, what i started to say is a word and

sort of changed and it sword of came out and people said i said black. i didn't. >> shep: hmm. rick santorum says he's concerned about all americans becoming too dependent on our government. so why is new hampshire so important already? it's the first primary of the season. idealcally it tends to be polar opposite of iowa. since 1952, only three candidates lost new hampshire and still gone on to win the presidency. bill clinton was one in '92. george w. bush in 2000. and president obama in 2008. the new hampshire primary also tends to have a substantial turnout. in 08, 51% of voters cast their ballots. more than any other state primary. molly line is live in manchester, new hampshire with the latest on this. new hampshire is a whole new ball game for these candidates. >> yeah, sure is. it is a difficult path. iowa and new hampshire voters are so different that no incumbent gop presidential candidate has ever won both, not

in recent history, since the '70s, since they really established themselves, their political prominence, as these early voting contests. you mentioned these big differences, you said it. iowa has far more conservative, more evangelical religious voters. in new hampshire, not the case. the numbers are far, far less than that. in 2008, there were exit polling was conducted and it was shown that republicans leaving the polls just about 21% of those republicans here in new hampshire considered themselves to be very conservative. another big difference is that in iowa, there is a lot of farm business. big agriculture. here in new hampshire, the backbone of the economy is small business and so these candidates are talking a lot about the economy, a lot about their plans to fix things. shep. >> shep: you know, last time i was there where you're standing in 2008, the voters were telling us we don't much care what happened in iowa. is that still the case? >> yeah. we heard a lot of that. the voters here, they're pride

on their independence and they want to make up their own mind. not to say they're not glancing at the paper, seeing how well people did in iowa, possibly choosing, narrowing down their choices based on that. but they'll make up their own mind and it's a totally different political landscape. >> shep: thanks. this coming sunday, we'll all be there. you can watch the fox report live from manchester. again that's this sunday, 7:00 o'clock eastern. 6 in objection ford on fnc. coolers, they're not just for tailgating and backyard barbecues. turns out they can save your life and for proof, check out what happened off the coast of sydney, australia. >> there could be four in the water there. >> shep: you can see two boys and their dads clinging to a cooler in the middle of the ocean. they wound up there when their boat caught fire as they headed out on a fishing trip. >> grabbed my wallet. went out, he had life jackets on the boys. >> rick: he grabbed the cooler, and jumped off the back deck. and then he activated an

emergency rescue beacon. rescuers say they picked up the signal and arrived within 45 minutes. >> these beacons give a gps location within meters. we are able to get the people very quickly. had he not done that, i can almost guarantee you we'd still be searching for them. >> i was in the helicopter. and they hit the water. >> shep: the raft almost hit him, he said, but they got it inflated and climbed aboard. they only had to wait a little while for a police boat to carry them to safety am frightening times tore 11-year-old reilly. >> what were you thinking? >> scared. >> shep: on top of that, all reilly's fishing gear is now at the bottom of the deep blue sea. >> i lost everything. i can get more stuff again. >> shep: everybody is safe and sound. as for that cooler, it was last spotted bobbing in the waves somewhere off the australian coast.

squatters taking over vacant houses, then claiming them as their own. is that legal? the story straight ahead. plus the nation's new consumer watchdog is on the job. we'll hear from him and from his critics as fox reports live tonight

>> shep: the nation's first consumer watchdog laying out his plans for the new agency. the formerttorney general richard cordray now heads the

newly formed consumer financial protection bureau. today he described the goals. >> consumers deserve to have someone who will stand on their side, who will protect them against fraud, and who will insure that they're treated fairly in the financial marketplace. the new consumer bureau was create to do make sure these things are achieved for all americans. >> shep: meantime, new outcry from republicans over the president's use of a recess appointment to give cordray the job. gop lawmakers blocked the nomination, arguing not about cordray himself, but that the new agency has too much power. the white house defends it as an important protection from predatory lenders. ed henry is live on the north lawn. the rips in congress were leading to us believe yesterday they were all kinds of steamed and i guess now it made its way to the campaign trail. >> you knew this would happen of the absolutely. this is day one for richard cordray on the job. he's really had a central casting for a role of this sort

of polite, bookish guy who says in his remarks, he wants to work with the republicans. but that boy scout exterior masks the sort of bare knuckles political fight going on in washington over this. it did make the campaign trail. mitt romney putting out a new campaign ad. but didn't go directly after cordray, but went after the recess appointments in general, particularly three other recess appointments dealing with the national labor relations board. newt gingrich, the republican presidential candidate, also got his licks in today, saying the president went too far. take a listen to newt. >> the answer to an imperial president is a congress which stands at its own rights. and the correct response, what the president just did, will be for the congress to zero out and refuse to fund the national labor relations board. >> when you talk to some advisors to the president, though, they believe that the

more the republicans gripe about this, about how the president took some executive action, which other presidents in both parties, by the way, have taken before, they think that's just highlights the fact that the president took the bull by the horns here to stand up for consumers, stand up for the middle class and that plays right into their narrative for 2012. >> shep: analysts from both sides of the political fence looked at this and said that pretty much they believe this is fine for the president to do. >> that's right. we spoke yesterday as it first started playing out with some former bush administration officials who said that they didn't like these appointments in any of these cases. they were too liberal for them, but they believe the president has the power to do this. jay carney at the white house today podium also said that while previous democratic leaders in the senate have used this pro forma session in the senate where they barely stay open for business to block recess appointments, they think that's a gimmick. take a listen. >> we're saying that this is a gimmick versus a constitutionally enshrined

authority. we feel very comfortable as a legal matter that constitution from scamming. >> we should point out that recently the senate was in a pro forma recess to pass the payroll tax cut extension, which they did not call gimmick. >> shep: now could be the perfect time for you or your neighbors to buy or refinance a home. mortgage rates have just hit a historic low. freddie mac reports that the average fixed rate on a 30-year loan fell this week to 3.91% and that ties a record set just two weeks ago. analysts say they expect this trend to continue for at least the next few months. then there is the other option. just be a squatter. there is word folks are trying to get their hands on pretty ritzy homes into which they moved, but never purchased because the real owners weren't around to object. in fact, the fort worth

star-telegram newspaper reports squatters have filed claims for more than $8 million worth of properties in just that city and its suburbs. kris gutierrez is live in dallas. how exactly do you just show up at a house and say it's yours? >> a lot of heads are turning. people are breaking into these homes and then they're going down to the courthouse and for $16, they're getting their hands on something called an adverse possession document. what that document in hand, they're returning to the homes and trying to convince neighbors, police, and even homeowners themselves that they have a squatter's right to this property. take a look. we're talking about some big homes. this one right here, this is a half million dollars home over in arlington, texas. the homeowner, get this, was away having chemotherapy treatment when a stranger moved in. another home was broken into while the owner, a traveling nurse, was working in another state. bottom line, according to authorities, these cases are bogus. listen here. >> how anyone thinks they could take a home for $16 and live in

it and then give grief to a homeowner after that, it just amazes us. it's astonishing. >> shep, these documents were originally used to settle land disputes back when texas was a republic. they are not, according to authorities, supposed to allow criminals to take over property. shep. >> shep: i want a $16 home. how widespread is this? >> you know, over in tarrant county, which includes fort worth, they've seen a recent rash. here is some of the other homes involved. so far in recent months, we're talking about 60 adverse possession documents filed in tarrant county. but now that authorities have caught on, the clerk's office is no longer accepting them. surprise, surprise. listen here. >> we have one where there was a dumpster out front and they were loading stuff up. so it's one of those things that is really out of the ordinary, but it seems to suddenly have popped up in multiple places for no real apparent reason.

>> i can't even imagine. i know you can't either. the d.a. says he'll prosecute all of these cases. >> shep: all right. kris gutierrez live in texas. thanks. that controversial federal gun sting known as operation fast and furious was not the first of its kind. the justice department releasing documents that reveal there were serious concerns about a similar program during the bush administration. like fast and fewer y operation wide receiver was meant to use gun buyers to lead investigators to major traffickers. we're told these documents suggest federal agents allowed the sales to continue even when they had enough evidence to prosecute. as for fast and furious, remember, two guns linked to the program turned up at the scene of a shootout that left dead a u.s. border agent named brian terry. three officials involved in the program have been reassigned pending the results of a federal investigation. what's expected to be the biggest supreme court battle of this year kicks off tomorrow. the high court set to begin reviewing the legal challenge to

president obama's health care overhaul. but we're already hearing a bit of a setback for the folks trying to get the law struck down. plus, that is not santa claus. we'll tell you how somebody's car ended up on somebody's roof.

>> shep: just in, a boost for jon huntsman. the presidential candidate picking up an endorsement from the boston globe newspaper. the editorial page calls his credentials as good as anyone in the field and says of all the candidates, he's the best prepared tore president. jon huntsman gets the nod from the boston globe. this endorsement in a state where mitt romney served as governor. comes days before the first in the nation primary next door in new hampshire.

a supreme court showdown gets underway tomorrow and the outcome could affect every single american. the fight is over president obama's healthcare overhaul, specifically the so-called individual mandate. it requires most of us to buy some form of health insurance or pay a penalty if we don't. the president signed the bill nearly two years ago and a lawsuit from 26 states challenges that requirement as unconstitutional. only one of four federal appeals courts that have ruled on the mandate struck it down. the nation's highest court is expected to make its decision by july, just a few months before the election. tomorrow both sides are set to file their first written arguments and then the battle begins. the written arguments may tell us a lot. what are we expect to go see in round one? shannon bream on the hill. what's the word? >> the government will file its first brief in support of that individual mandate. also tomorrow, those opposing the law will argue the issue of severability. if the mandate goes, then the rest of the law has to fall

apart. we've gotten a look at a brief that a group of senator will file. quote, if congress intended for it survive without the individual mandate, it could have protected it by include ago clause would which would have created severalability. congress did not do so. >> shep: those challenging the health care law have another hurdle to get past that could really put the brakes on the whole case, right? >> it's the most important thing you need in any case, it's standing. you have to have a plaintiff to show they can actually be impacted by the law, they're challenging. the one plaintiff that both sides of this case agreed would be appropriate to bring the lawsuit to small business owner in florida who said she couldn't afford this. she's gone out of business. some argue that means the entire case falls apart. but there are other plaintiffs and the group backing the primary lawsuit against the health care law is formally asking the court to allow it, to add two other business owners. so far the justice department is not opposing that motion.

shep. >> shep: shannon bream on capitol hill. a couple weeks ago, we told but a family who survived for almost two days trapped in a car under four feet of snow. an update tops our news across america. texas. the parents and their five-year-old daughter inside this suv when it skidded off the road in the middle of a blizzard in new mexico. >> there was no way out. >> shep: they say they bundled up and waited for help. >> we were struggling for that air. >> shep: it came 38 hours later when rescuers busted through the window. california. a suspected car thief apparently didn't get too far with the goods. cops say he lost control, the car went airborne, and crashed on the roof of this apartment building in fresno. everybody inside is okay. we're told the suspect broke his leg when he jumped off the roof and tried to make a run for it. massachusetts. a fight between a brother and sister so out of control, their

mom called the cops to break it up. they say it happened at this home in salem. >> i have two teenage children would will not stop beating each other up. >> shep: according to the police report t started when the 15-year-old boy hit his eight-year-old sister in the arm. he's chargeed with domestic assault. south carolina. a couple gets a case of cold feet after the wedding. they exchange rings on the beach, then race to the frigid water, all part of a 2012 polar bear plunge on sullivan's island near charleston. that's a fox watch. sicily is known for a lot of things, food, wine, and lava. europe's tallest active volcano rumbling back to life in the new year. that straight ahead. as fox reports tonight [ male announcer ] cranberry juice? wake up! ♪ that's good morning, veggie style.

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>> europe's most active volcano erupted today for the first time in the new year. lava streamed out of sicily's

mount etna, turning slopes black with ash. it's been blowing its top almost continuously for, well, half a million years. with 18 eruptions la year alone. the last major one, back in 1992 when u.s. forces flew in to help stop lava from reaching a nearby village. before we go, our team's top five things of the day. number 5, florida woman offering a a $200 reward for somebody who stole nine koy fish from the pond outside her home. number 4, a utah police officer is dead tonight after a shootout during a drug raid near salt lake city. five other suspects -- i should say officers and the suspect are hurt. number 3, police in texas blame fog and smoke for a highway pileup involving more than 50 vehicles. it injured dozens of people. number 2, the labor department reports the number o people applying for unemployment benefits fell for the fourth time in five weeks. and number 1, the president says

despite billions of dollars in defense cuts over the next decade, the u.s. military will remain strong and that's the fox report's top five. on this day in 1968, a glimmer of freedom shown through the iron curtain when the so-called prague spring began in czechoslovakia. it was autism immense political upheaval across the globe. it started with a reformist, a man who promised more liberties under communism, freedom of speech, freedom to travel, things we americans take for granted. but the soviet union, which had essentially been running czechoslovakia's puppet government had other ideas. that august it sent in 600,000 troops. the protesters were no match for the russian tanks and opposition quickly swept back across the land. but a window opened. if only slightly, 44 years ago today. now you know the news for thi